Judge Elect Monica Hawkins Arrested for OVI

Newly elected Judge Monica Hawkins was arrested Thursday evening and charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence. Judge Hawkins was elected into office as a Domestic Relations/Juvenile Court judge in Franklin County November 6, 2018. She ran as the Democratic candidate winning about 65% of the votes in the general election.

Hawkins, who celebrated her 54th birthday February 1st, was stopped around 8:30 p.m. Thursday night by Pickerington Police. According to reports, they initially recieved an anoymous call about a potential drunk driver and were given descriptive details about the drivers behavior before she was spotted and stopped. Details of the arrest have become more available and according to Officer Mercedes Gavins, Judge Hawkins’ driving was, in fact, erratic. She nearly hit a curb and was crossing lane markings. It was also reported there were pungent smells of alcohol and vomit inside of the Infiniti sedan she was stopped in with an unidentified male passenger.

Judge Hawkins failed the field sobriety test, would not sign a waiver acknowledging her Miranda rights, and refused to submit more tests. As a result, she was taken to Ohio Health to have blood drawn where she allegedly refused to cooperate and had to be held down to complete the sample.

According to Pickerington Police this incident was captured on the officers dash cam. Judge Hawkins is scheduled to be arraigned in Fairfield Municipal court February 14th, 2019.

Several attempts have been made to reach out to Hawkins for a comment, with no response at this time.

On a lighter note, Judge Hawkins, whose career spans over 23 years serving families in our community, is a product of the Columbus Public School System and a graduate of The Ohio State University. She is a proud parent and grandmother, as well as, a revered community activist. It has been noted that in crisis, she has acted with diplomacy, human compassion, and mutual respect.